February 1
Events * 481 – Vandal king Huneric organises a conference between Catholic and Arian bishops at Carthage. *1327 – Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer. *1329 – King John of Bohemia captures Medvėgalis, an important fortress of the pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and baptizes 6,000 of its defenders *1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn, Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (Prussia). *1662 – The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege. *1713 – The Kalabalik or Tumult in Bendery results from the Ottoman sultan's order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized. *1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. *1796 – The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York. *1814 – Mayon Volcano in the Philippines erupts, killing around 1,200 people, the most devastating eruption of the volcano. *1835 – Slavery is abolished in Mauritius. *1861 – American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States. *1865 – President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. *1884 – The first volume (A'' to ''Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary is published. *1893 – Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey. *1895 – Fountains Valley, Pretoria, the oldest nature reserve in Africa, is proclaimed by President Paul Kruger. *1897 – Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul. *1908 – King Carlos I of Portugal and his son, Prince Luis Filipe, are killed in Terreiro do Paço, Lisbon. *1918 – Russia adopts the Gregorian calendar. *1924 – The United Kingdom recognizes the USSR. *1942 – World War II: Josef Terboven, Reichskommissar of German-occupied Norway, appoints Vidkun Quisling the Minister President of the National Government. * 1942 – World War II: U.S. Navy conducts Marshalls–Gilberts raids, the first offensive action by the United States against Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater. * 1942 – Voice of America, the official external radio and television service of the United States government, begins broadcasting with programs aimed at areas controlled by the Axis powers. *1946 – Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary-General. * 1946 – The Parliament of Hungary abolishes the monarchy after nine centuries, and proclaims the Hungarian Republic. *1953 – North Sea flood of 1953 was caused by a heavy storm which occurred overnight, 31 January-1 February 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium and the U.K. *1960 – Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. *1964 – The Beatles have their first number one hit in the United States with "I Want to Hold Your Hand". *1965 – The Hamilton River in Labrador, Canada is renamed the Churchill River in honour of Winston Churchill. *1968 – Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan is videotaped and photographed by Eddie Adams. * 1968 – Canada's three military services, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, are unified into the Canadian Forces. * 1968 – The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form Penn Central Transportation. *1972 – Kuala Lumpur becomes a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia. *1974 – A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in São Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293. * 1974 – Kuala Lumpur is declared a Federal Territory. *1979 – The Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile. *1981 – The Underarm bowling incident of 1981 occurred when Trevor Chappell bowls underarm on the final delivery of a game between Australia and New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). *1982 – Senegal and the Gambia form a loose confederation known as Senegambia. *1989 – The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder. *1990 – Humanitas publishing house is founded in Bucharest, shortly after the Romanian Revolution, by the philosopher Gabriel Liiceanu. *1991 – A runway collision between USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport results in the deaths of 34 people, and injuries to 30 others. *1992 – The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal disaster case. *1996 – The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress. *1998 – Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne becomes the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral. *2001 – Putrajaya, the Malaysian administrative city, is declared a Federal Territory. *2002 – Daniel Pearl, American journalist and South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, kidnapped January 23, 2002, is beheaded and mutilated by his captors. *2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during the reentry of mission STS-107 into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard. *2004 – Hajj pilgrimage stampede: In a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured. *2005 – King Gyanendra of Nepal carries out a coup d'état to capture the democracy, becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers. *2008 – Suicide bombings in Baghdad occur. *2009 – The first cabinet of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was formed in Iceland, making her the country's first female prime minister and the world's first openly LGBT head of government. *2010 – Suicide bombing in Baghdad occurs. *2012 – At least 72 people are killed and over 500 injured as a result of clashes between fans of Egyptian football teams Al-Masry and Al-Ahly in the city of Port Said. *2013 – The Shard, the tallest building in the European Union, is opened to the public. Births *1261 – Walter de Stapledon, English bishop and politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1326) *1402 – Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (d. 1445) *1459 – Conrad Celtes, German poet and scholar (d. 1508) *1462 – Johannes Trithemius, German lexicographer, historian, and cryptographer (d. 1516) *1501 – Queen Munjeong of Korea (d. 1565) *1552 – Edward Coke, English lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1634) *1635 – Marquard Gude, German archaeologist and scholar (d. 1689) *1648 – Elkanah Settle, English poet and playwright (d. 1724) *1659 – Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (d. 1729) *1663 – Ignacia del Espíritu Santo, Filipino nun, founded the Religious of the Virgin Mary (d. 1748) *1687 – Johann Adam Birkenstock, German violinist and composer (d. 1733) *1690 – Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1768) *1701 – Johan Agrell, Swedish-German pianist and composer (d. 1765) *1761 – Christiaan Hendrik Persoon, South African-French mycologist and academic (d. 1836) *1763 – Thomas Campbell, Irish minister and theologian (d. 1854) *1764 – George Duff, Scottish captain (d. 1805) *1796 – Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss minister, poet, and educator (d. 1865) *1801 – Émile Littré, French lexicographer and philosopher (d. 1881) *1820 – George Hendric Houghton, American clergyman and theologian (d. 1897) *1836 – Emil Hartmann, Danish organist and composer (d. 1898) *1844 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist and academic (d. 1924) *1851 – Durham Stevens, American lawyer and diplomat (d. 1908) *1858 – Ignacio Bonillas, Mexican diplomat (d. 1942) *1859 – Victor Herbert, Irish-American cellist, composer, and conductor (d. 1924) *1872 – Jerome F. Donovan, American lawyer and politician (d. 1949) * 1872 – Andrew Kehoe, American murderer (d. 1927) *1873 – Joseph Allard, Canadian fiddler and composer (d. 1947) * 1873 – John Barry, Irish soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1901) *1874 – Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1929) *1878 – Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer and architect, designed the Grand Hotel Aranybika (d. 1955) * 1878 – Milan Hodža, Slovak journalist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (d. 1944) *1881 – Tip Snooke, South African cricketer (d. 1966) *1882 – Louis St. Laurent, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1973) *1884 – Bradbury Robinson, American football player and physician (d. 1949) * 1884 – Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian journalist and author (d. 1937) *1887 – Charles Nordhoff, English-American lieutenant, pilot, and author (d. 1947) *1890 – Nikolai Reek, Estonian general and politician, 11th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1942) *1894 – John Ford, American director and producer (d. 1973) * 1894 – James P. Johnson, American pianist and composer (d. 1955) *1895 – Conn Smythe, Canadian businessman (d. 1980) *1897 – Denise Robins, English journalist and author (d. 1985) *1898 – Leila Denmark, American pediatrician and author (d. 2012) *1901 – Frank Buckles, American soldier (d. 2011) * 1901 – Clark Gable, American actor (d. 1960) *1902 – Therese Brandl, German concentration camp guard (d. 1947) * 1902 – Langston Hughes, American poet and author (d. 1967) *1904 – S.J. Perelman, American author and screenwriter (d. 1979) *1905 – Joan Morgan, English actress (d. 2004) * 1905 – Emilio G. Segrè, Italian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989) *1906 – Adetokunbo Ademola, Nigerian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of Nigeria (d. 1993) *1907 – Günter Eich, German author and songwriter (d. 1972) * 1907 – Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian pianist and composer (d. 1993) *1908 – George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (d. 1980) * 1908 – Louis Rasminsky, Canadian economist and banker (d. 1998) *1909 – George Beverly Shea, Canadian-American singer-songwriter (d. 2013) *1910 – Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Chinese general and politician (d. 2009) *1915 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer and manager (d. 2000) *1917 – José Luis Sampedro, Spanish economist and author (d. 2013) * 1917 – Eiji Sawamura, Japanese baseball player and soldier (d. 1944) *1918 – Muriel Spark, Scottish-Italian author and poet (d. 2006) * 1918 – Ignacy Tokarczuk, Polish archbishop (d. 2012) *1920 – Mike Scarry, American football player and coach (d. 2012) *1921 – Renata Tebaldi, Italian soprano and actress (d. 2004) *1923 – Ben Weider, Canadian businessman, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (d. 2008) *1924 – Richard Hooker, American surgeon and author (d. 1997) * 1924 – Emmanuel Scheffer, German-Israeli footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2012) *1927 – Galway Kinnell, American poet and academic (d. 2014) *1928 – Sam Edwards, Welsh physicist and academic (d. 2015) * 1928 – Tom Lantos, Hungarian-American academic and politician (d. 2008) *1930 – Shahabuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi judge and politician, 12th President of Bangladesh * 1930 – Hussain Muhammad Ershad, Indian-Bangladeshi general and politician, 10th President of Bangladesh * 1930 – Peter Tapsell, English soldier and politician *1931 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (d. 2007) *1932 – Hassan Al-Turabi, Sudanese activist and politician (d. 2016) *1934 – Nicolae Breban, Romanian author, poet, and playwright *1936 – Tuncel Kurtiz, Turkish actor, playwright, and director (d. 2013) * 1936 – Azie Taylor Morton, American educator and politician, 36th Treasurer of the United States (d. 2003) *1937 – Garrett Morris, American actor * 1937 – Ray Sawyer, American singer-songwriter *1938 – Sherman Hemsley, American actor and singer (d. 2012) *1939 – Fritjof Capra, Austrian physicist, author, and academic * 1939 – Claude François, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and dancer (d. 1978) * 1939 – Paul Gillmor, American lawyer and politician (d. 2007) * 1939 – Ekaterina Maximova, Russian ballerina (d. 2009) * 1939 – Del McCoury, American singer and guitarist * 1939 – Joe Sample, American pianist and composer (d. 2014) *1941 – Jerry Spinelli, American author *1942 – Bibi Besch, Austrian-American actress (d. 1996) * 1942 – Terry Jones, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter * 1942 – Masa Saito, Japanese wrestler and manager *1944 – Mike Enzi, American soldier, accountant, and politician * 1944 – Petru Popescu, Romanian-American director, producer, and author * 1944 – Burkhard Ziese, German footballer and manager (d. 2010) *1945 – Serge Joyal, Canadian lawyer and politician, 50th Secretary of State for Canada *1946 – Elisabeth Sladen, English actress (d. 2011) *1947 – Adam Ingram, Scottish computer programmer and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces * 1947 – Normie Rowe, Australian singer-songwriter and actor * 1947 – Jessica Savitch, American journalist (d. 1983) *1948 – Rick James, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004) * 1948 – Ferruccio Mazzola, Italian footballer and manager (d. 2013) *1950 – Mike Campbell, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer * 1950 – Ali Haydar Konca, Turkish politician, 4th Turkish Minister of European Union Affairs *1951 – Sonny Landreth, American guitarist and songwriter * 1951 – Andrew Smith, English politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions *1952 – Owoye Andrew Azazi, Nigerian general (d. 2012) *1954 – Chuck Dukowski, American singer-songwriter and bass player *1956 – Exene Cervenka, American singer-songwriter and guitarist *1957 – Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Saudi Arabian businessman (d. 2007) * 1957 – Gilbert Hernandez, American author and illustrator *1958 – Luther Blissett, Jamaican-English footballer and manager * 1958 – Eleanor Laing, Scottish lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland * 1958 – Jackie Shroff, Indian actor, singer, and producer *1961 – Volker Fried, German field hockey player and coach * 1961 – Daniel M. Tani, American engineer and astronaut *1962 – José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (d. 2004) * 1962 – Tomoyasu Hotei, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist * 1962 – Takashi Murakami, Japanese painter and sculptor *1964 – Jani Lane, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011) * 1964 – Mario Pelchat, Canadian singer-songwriter * 1964 – Bugge Wesseltoft, Norwegian pianist and record producer * 1964 – Linus Roache, English actor *1966 – Michelle Akers, American soccer player *1967 – Meg Cabot, American author and screenwriter *1968 – Lisa Marie Presley, American singer-songwriter and actress * 1968 – Mark Recchi, Canadian ice hockey player and coach * 1968 – Pauly Shore, American comedian, actor, director, and producer *1969 – Gabriel Batistuta, Argentinian footballer * 1969 – Andrew Breitbart, American journalist, author, and publisher (d. 2012) * 1969 – Brian Krause, American actor and screenwriter * 1969 – Patrick Wilson, American drummer *1970 – Yasuyuki Kazama, Japanese race car driver * 1970 – Malik Sealy, American basketball player and actor (d. 2000) *1971 – Harald Brattbakk, Norwegian footballer and pilot * 1971 – Michael C. Hall, American actor and producer * 1971 – Ajay Jadeja, Indian cricketer, sportscaster, and actor * 1971 – Ron Welty, American drummer *1972 – Kami, Japanese drummer (d. 1999) *1973 – Andrew DeClercq, American basketball player and coach * 1973 – Óscar Pérez Rojas, Mexican footballer *1974 – Walter McCarty, American basketball player and coach *1975 – Big Boi, American rapper and producer * 1975 – Martijn Reuser, Dutch footballer *1976 – Mat Rogers, Australian rugby player *1977 – Lari Ketner, American football player (d. 2014) * 1977 – Kevin Kilbane, English-Irish footballer and sportscaster * 1977 – Robert Traylor, American basketball player (d. 2011) *1978 – Tim Harding, Australian singer *1979 – Valentín Elizalde, Mexican singer-songwriter (d. 2006) * 1979 – Juan Silveira dos Santos, Brazilian footballer *1980 – Héctor Luna, Dominican baseball player * 1980 – Moisés Muñoz, Mexican footballer * 1980 – Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2005) *1981 – Rob Austin, English race car driver *1981 – Hins Cheung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter * 1981 – Christian Giménez, Argentinian footballer * 1981 – Graeme Smith, South African cricketer *1982 – Gavin Henson, Welsh rugby player * 1982 – Shoaib Malik, Pakistani cricketer *1983 – Kevin Martin, American basketball player * 1983 – Anna Suzuki, Japanese actress and model * 1983 – Jurgen Van den Broeck, Belgian cyclist * 1983 – Andrew VanWyngarden, American singer-songwriter and guitarist *1984 – Darren Fletcher, Scottish footballer *1985 – Dean Shiels, Irish footballer *1986 – Jorrit Bergsma, Dutch speed skater * 1986 – Lauren Conrad, American fashion designer and author *1987 – Sebastian Boenisch, Polish footballer * 1987 – Moises Henriques, Portuguese-Australian cricketer * 1987 – Austin Jackson, American baseball player * 1987 – Giuseppe Rossi, Italian footballer *1988 – Brett Anderson, American baseball player *1989 – Ricky Pinheiro, Portuguese footballer *1990 – Dan Gosling, English footballer *1991 – Luca Caldirola, Italian footballer * 1991 – Kyle Palmieri, American hockey player *1992 – Mao Ichimichi, Japanese actress and model *1993 – Diego Mella, Italian footballer *1994 – Anna-Lena Friedsam, German tennis player * 1994 – Skylar Laine, American singer-songwriter * 1994 – Harry Styles, English singer-songwriter *1995 – Marcelo Hermes, Brazilian footballer * 1995 – Jay Lelliott, English swimmer * 1995 – Márton Lorentz, Hungarian footballer Deaths * 772 – Pope Stephen III (b. 720) *1248 – Henry II, Duke of Brabant (b. 1207) *1328 – Charles IV of France (b. 1294) *1542 – Girolamo Aleandro, Italian cardinal (b. 1480) *1563 – Menas of Ethiopia (b. 1559) *1590 – Lawrence Humphrey, English theologian and academic (b. 1527) *1691 – Pope Alexander VIII (b. 1610) *1718 – Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1660) *1733 – Augustus II the Strong, Polish king (b. 1670) *1734 – John Floyer, English physician and author (b. 1649) *1743 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian organist and composer (b. 1657) *1750 – Bakar of Georgia (b. 1699) *1761 – Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French priest and historian (b. 1682) *1768 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, English field marshal and politician (b. 1685) *1793 – William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1717) *1832 – Archibald Murphey, American judge and politician (b. 1777) *1851 – Mary Shelley, English novelist and playwright (b. 1797) *1871 – Alexander Serov, Russian composer and critic (b. 1820) *1893 – George Henry Sanderson, American lawyer and politician, 22nd Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1824) *1897 – Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist and botanist (b. 1826) *1903 – Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet, Irish-English physicist, mathematician, and politician (b. 1819) *1907 – Léon Serpollet, French businessman (b. 1858) *1908 – Carlos I of Portugal (b. 1863) *1922 – William Desmond Taylor, American actor and director (b. 1872) *1924 – Maurice Prendergast, American painter (b. 1858) *1928 – Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869) *1936 – Georgios Kondylis, Greek general and politician, 128th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1878) *1940 – Philip Francis Nowlan, American author, created Buck Rogers (b. 1888) * 1940 – Zacharias Papantoniou, Greek journalist and critic (b. 1877) *1944 – Piet Mondrian, Dutch-American painter (b. 1872) *1949 – Nicolae Dumitru Cocea, Romanian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1880) * 1949 – Herbert Stothart, American conductor and composer (b. 1885) *1957 – Friedrich Paulus, German general (b. 1890) *1958 – Clinton Davisson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888) *1959 – Madame Sul-Te-Wan, American actress (b. 1873) *1966 – Hedda Hopper, American actress and journalist (b. 1885) * 1966 – Buster Keaton, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1895) *1970 – Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician and academic (b. 1921) *1976 – Werner Heisenberg, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901) * 1976 – George Whipple, American physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1878) *1979 – Abdi İpekçi, Turkish journalist and activist (b. 1929) *1981 – Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American engineer and businessman, founded the Douglas Aircraft Company (b. 1892) * 1981 – Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian pianist and composer (b. 1908) *1986 – Alva Myrdal, Swedish sociologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902) *1987 – Alessandro Blasetti, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1900) *1989 – Elaine de Kooning, American painter and academic (b. 1918) *1992 – Jean Hamburger, French physician and surgeon (b. 1909) *1996 – Ray Crawford, American race car driver, pilot, and businessman (b. 1915) *1997 – Herb Caen, American journalist and author (b. 1916) *1999 – Barış Manço, Turkish singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1943) * 1999 – Paul Mellon, American art collector and philanthropist (b. 1907) *2001 – André D'Allemagne, Canadian political scientist and academic (b. 1929) *2002 – Aykut Barka, Turkish geologist and academic (b. 1951) * 2002 – Hildegard Knef, German actress and singer (b. 1925) *2003 – crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia ** – Michael P. Anderson, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1959) ** – David M. Brown, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1956) ** – Kalpana Chawla, Indian-American engineer and astronaut (b. 1961) ** – Laurel Clark, American captain, surgeon, and astronaut (b. 1961) ** – Rick Husband, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1957) ** – William C. McCool, American commander, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1961) ** – Ilan Ramon, Israeli colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1954) * 2003 – Mongo Santamaría, Cuban-American drummer and bandleader (b. 1922) *2004 – Suha Arın, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942) *2005 – John Vernon, Canadian-American actor (b. 1932) *2007 – Ahmad Abu Laban, Egyptian-Danish religious leader, founded The Islamic Society in Denmark (b. 1946) * 2007 – Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-American playwright and composer (b. 1911) *2008 – Beto Carrero, Brazilian actor and businessman (b. 1937) *2010 – Jack Brisco, American wrestler and manager (b. 1941) *2012 – Don Cornelius, American television host and producer (b. 1936) * 2012 – Angelo Dundee, American boxing trainer (b. 1921) * 2012 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923) *2013 – Ed Koch, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 105th Mayor of New York City (b. 1924) * 2013 – Shanu Lahiri, Indian painter and educator (b. 1928) * 2013 – Cecil Womack, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1947) *2014 – Luis Aragonés, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1938) * 2014 – Vasily Petrov, Russian marshal (b. 1917) * 2014 – Rene Ricard, American poet, painter, and critic (b. 1946) * 2014 – Maximilian Schell, Austrian-Swiss actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930) *2015 – Aldo Ciccolini, Italian-French pianist (b. 1925) * 2015 – Udo Lattek, German footballer, manager, and sportscaster (b. 1935) * 2015 – Monty Oum, American animator, director, and screenwriter (b. 1981) *2016 – Murray Louis, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1926) * 2016 – Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores, Guatemalan general and politician, 27th President of Guatemala (b. 1930) * 2016 – Dušan Velkaverh, Slovenian lyricist (b. 1943) Holidays and observances * Abolition of Slavery Day (Mauritius) * Air Force Day (Nicaragua) * Christian feast day: ** Astina (Syrian Church) ** Blessed Candlemas of San José ** Brigid, patron saint of Ireland ** February 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) * Earliest day on which Constitution Day can fall, while February 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in February. (Mexico) * Earliest day on which National Wear Red Day can fall, while February 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday in February. (United States) * Federal Territory Day (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, Malaysia) * Heroes Day (Rwanda) * Imbolc (Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, and some Neopagan groups in the Northern hemisphere) * Memorial Day of the Republic (Hungary) * National Freedom Day (United States) * The start of Black History Month (United States and Canada) * The start of LGBT History Month (United Kingdom) * The start of National Bird-Feeding Month (United States) * World Hijab Day External links * BBC: On This Day * * Today in Canadian History Category:Days of the year Category:February